


Fear

by cadaveres



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dragon Age Quest: Here Lies the Abyss, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 07:37:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4697711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadaveres/pseuds/cadaveres
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The people they hurt with their magic, their fear of Templars and of being taken, the lives of the spies that accompanied them to the Conclave on their shoulders, the fate of all Thedas their responsibility; there's a lot of things that Fear can pick from to make the Inquisitor give up and succumb to its words once more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fear

Fear was a thing that Feray was used to; it was through fear, after all, that they had learned to be cautious about the world. Fear was their companion, their advisor, their mentor. They were there in every step of the way, ever since the magic had come.

Fear had taught them through fire to fear for others, to fear themselves. They were young, barely 10 when they first felt their fingertips igniting with fire.

“A spark is enough to hurt him,” Fear told them as they saw their brother’s burnt leg. “Healers make a lot of questions,” Fear guided as Feray made its way to the Alienage’s healer, carrying their screaming brother, terrified. “They might find out about your lies,” Fear chastised as they told the healer that they had been playing with matches. “Be cautious and consistent, feel your guilt only when alone.” Their brother’s leg was healed; their parents’ questions appeased with lies; their brother, knowing, hid the secret out of fear that they might be taken away.

Fear had also taught them to fear for themselves. It was dark and they were alone. “They should take you,” Fear had whispered coldly. “You deserve to be taken.” The cold had begun to expand from their fingertips, their skin bitten by the frost. It hurt but there was nobody to turn to. “Say a word and they will know,” Fear warned as the child squirmed under their blankets, terrified, freezing over by the fear of their secret being known.

“I deserve it. They should take me.” They were never alone; Fear was always at their side, but Fear made sure to provide no comfort for the hurting child. 

“Your brother now fears you as much as you fear the Templars.” Fear was wise; Fear knew what they deserved for their lies. “You would be better off locked away from them.”

Screams broke the silence of the night as they saw their frozen arm, the frost continuing to grow, building a shield of ice to keep the world away. “Let them come. Tell them to come. Let them take me.” 

Now Fear stood before them, engorged by all the past regrets and all the guilt that they carried on their shoulders, that they hid under their bed to revisit when it was time to rest, alone in the dark, hidden under blankets, taking air violently as their lungs filled with dread and their heartbeats threaten to break the silence.

Spiders. They felt grateful for they were not prepared to see themselves casting spells against those they cared about. Spiders were the least likely fear to hurt, but the most likely to bite. 

“They trust you with the fate of the world when you couldn’t even save the friends that you doomed. The Keeper trusted you; your clan trusted you and you lead them to their deaths. How does it feel, Inquisitor, Herald of the faithful, to have traded their lives for glory? You are a coward hiding under a light that was not yours to begin with, letting others fight your battles while you play hero. "

Fear knew them; it had guided them all their life. Every guilt, every regret, every nightmare they had lived through, it had been there. Fear knew how to hurt.

“More responsibilities you will leave unfinished, new choices that will lead to more failures. How would it feel when you are alone? Will you sleep or will you leave the candles lit as you toss around at night, scared of your own shadow?” 

A sharp smile played on its lips, showing the teeth that had gnawed their chest with worries and guilt all of their life. But words were just words now; the past was still the past, as much as Feray had tried to change that.

“How will you live in a world you shaped? You are lost and soon you will fade.”

Standing before it now, face-to-face, ready to sever that relationship that had plagued their life with dread, Feray took a step forward into its chamber. By living with Fear their whole life they had learned not to fear it anymore. Eyes on it, daring, they smiled as they attacked. 

“Tell me something about myself that I haven’t told myself already.”

**Author's Note:**

> Some headcanons on what happened on Hear Lies the Abyss.


End file.
